The Secret’s Out: Why We Open Our Mouths When Applying Mascara

This little gesture we do always seem to amuse others (read: men), and today, I shall reveal the secret to why we women do the crazy things we do (well, one of them…!)

The thing is, some of the neves that open the eyelids are connected to the mouth, thus making it (literally!) second nature for to open our mouths when lifting our eyelids as high as we do when applying mascara. And before you think this is women exclusive (as a male friend says, “only women do this type of craziness”, that jerk!), it most definitely isn’t. Ask any man, as a test, to apply mascara and he will do exactly the same.

I think it has more to do with whether you stretch your head out quite a bit when applying mascara, which I tend to do in order for my lashes to not be touching my eyelid while applying it. And even without using mascara, as soon as I lift my head up in a motion like that, my mouth opens up a bit, and I can feel the skin under my neck stretch – so maybe it’s the skin stretching out that causes the bottom lip to pull open.